It is well-known to employ mitre gauges and guide fences in conjunction with power woodworking tools.
A router mounting table is shown and described in allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 037,549, filed Apr. 13, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,706. Mitre gauges and guide fences are typically used with such tables. Table saws also utilize guide fences and mitre gauges to assure accurate cuts.
Mitre gauges of the prior art are generally classified as simple and compound. A simple mitre gauge comprises an elongated member which rides in a groove in the table and presents a vertical support plate that is movable about a vertical axis. A piece of wood is held against the support plate after it has been adjusted to the appropriate angle so as to assure an accurate cut at this angle. A compound mitre gauge of the prior art is a separate accessory requiring installation on the woodworking table after the simple mitre gauge has been removed. These compound mitre gauges normally include a number of movable arms and carriages for positioning a work piece to allow mitre cuts to be made at two different angles.
It is known in the art to employ split guide fences with woodworking tools so that the infeed and outfeed halves of the fence may be independently adjusted. This assures that the piece being worked will remain in contact with the fence on both the infeed and outfeed sides of the cutting tool. The constructions of the prior art have consisted of a long mounting bar which requires considerable effort to square before the two halves of the guide fence can be independently adjusted.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a combination simple and compound mitre gauge which can be changed between its simple and compound operating modes by loosening a single screw.
Another objective of our invention is to provide a simple mitre gauge having a guide surface which may be moved alternately into one of two positions of varying length.
Another important objective of the invention is to provide a compound mitre gauge which may be adapted to different angles in two different planes.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a guide fence for a woodworking tool wherein the fence utilizes two independent mounting plates for the infeed and outfeed sections of the fence thereby facilitating alignment of the fence sections relative to the working tool.